Checkmate
Checkmate is the seventh studio album by American artist Richie McCartney, released on April 25, 2017, only on digital platforms. The album reached number one iTunes in more than 70 countries within 24 minutes of its release. Part of the reason for this success is because of the history and mystery behind this record. The album was recorded between 2013 and 2014 and was supposed to be McCartney's fifth studio album. The record was even sent to the critics and received positive reviews. Even the producers involved in the project gave various interviews in websites and radio programs, saying that the album would be Richie's best work at that point. After lots of talks, McCartney released the lead single from Undertow, in 2014, with an 80s sound, shocking the producers that were involved in the Checkmate project. Producer Darkchild went to Kiis FM and said the initial record was scrapped. Background and musical style The album began being recorded in April 2013, but was scrapped and turned into another project, without being finished. It was supposed to be McCartney's fifth album, but it was on freeze for three years. The album was sent to music critic from radios and magazines and was praised. Critics stated "Glow In The Dark", which features Brian Felton, "Life (Is My Revenge)" and "Slay" were the biggest songs on the record. Checkmate was also motive for polemics when insiders said "Final Song" was about McCartney's retirement from the music industry. On 2013, McCartney even filmed the music video for "Glow In The Dark", but it was never released. After a lot of expectations, the lead single for the new album, now called Undertow, was released, with a totally different sound. On 2016, McCartney spoke to Billboard about Checkmate, stating he didn't know what actually happened to the demos recorded for it after it was scrapped. He said "Checkmate was done before Undertow. About 15 songs were recorded for this project and later scrapped, because of the change in the direction of the sound. All the news about Checkmate really left the fans wondering what happened, and 'til today I'm always asked about what happened to the songs. And, believe me, I have o idea. I didn't keep any, I guess the producers have it or sold it. The was even one song called 'Glow In the Dark' with Brian Felton, but I didn't like it and I don't know what happened to it." Promotion Because of its cancelation, the album wasn't much promoted. McCartney included some songs from it in his Private residency in Vegas and the "Glow In The Dark" performance was broadcasted at the New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest in 2017. Critical reception C''h''eckmate received a weighted score of 67 out of 100 from review aggregate website Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews", based on 27 reviews from music critics. British music journalist Neil McCormick gave the album a four-out-of-five-star rating, in his review published in The Daily Telegraph and complimented the dark pop songs present on the album. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic gave it a three-and-a-half-out-of-five rating. In the positive review he wrote that it's understandable the reason why it was scrapped, since Undertow is much better, but this one has its moments. The same rating was given by Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield, who described the release as a "great surprise". Writing for The A.V. Club, Annie Zaleski commended the dark pop of Checkmate. Rating it B, Zaleski noted that songs like "You and I", "Evil In The Night", "The Light" and "Final Song" are the best tracks from the album and highlighted McCartney's vocal prowess. The Guardian's Caroline Sullivan considered Checkmate to be a "classic Richie album" and rated it three-out-of-five-star review. She explained that "it was what everyone would expect from him back in the day, and probably that's why it was scrapped". For Evan Sawdey of PopMatters, the album—with its "flaws and all"—was a wrong musical step for McCartney when it was going to be first released, which he believed would make "fans happy but wouldn't elevate the singer's name as much as Undertow did". Similarly, Amanda Petrusich of Pitchfork remarked how McCartney ended up making more of the same with this record, and how she was glad it was scrapped in the first place. However, she said it has quality, personality and is a great surprise as a gift for fans. Track listing